‘Steppin’ Out’ for a lively evening of musical masterpieces
In her preshow speech for “Steppin’ Out With Irving Berlin,” Winter Park Playhouse executive Heather Alexander omitted her usual reminder to the audience to refrain from singing along with the professionals on stage. She shouldn’t have.
But even a jaded critic can be somewhat forgiving if people get swept up in Berlin’s masterpieces and find themselves vocalizing a line or two. (I stress somewhat forgiving: Please remember your fellow theatergoers have paid to hear the pros sing, not you!)
“Steppin’ Out With Irving Berlin,” which was created right here in Central Florida at the Playhouse, is just that kind of show, though. Every tune is hummable, toes start tapping of their own volition.
Berlin, of course, was a musical marvel, writing more than 1,500 songs in his lifetime. So winnowing that list down for “Steppin’ Out” must have been a challenge for the Playhouse creative team of
Roy Alan, Christopher Leavy and Todd Allen Long.
They have done well in this revised edition of the musical, which the Playhouse first presented a decade ago, mixing familiar tunes with lesser-known gems. (“Marie from Sunny Italy,” anyone?)
That ditty, by the way, was Berlin’s first published song, as Long’s concise narration tells us. The show is full of interesting facts, though it skimps over a few key details such as the amazing longevity of Berlin’s life — he was 101 when he died in his sleep in 1989 — or the ironic tragedy that the man who gave us the world’s most popular Christmas song lost his only son and namesake on
Christmas Day in 1928, less than a month after he was born.
Perhaps that’s because the creators wanted to keep “Steppin’ Out” upbeat, and it is most definitely a sunny show. Alan’s tap choreography enlivens multiple numbers, including a fun-filled solo turn on “No Strings,” but just as spirit-lifting are the graceful dances — a la Fred and Ginger — performed by Alan and a luminous Tay Anderson.
Director Steven Flaa lets his polished cast show the audience how much they are enjoying themselves but never at the
expense of appreciating the music — “Alexander’s Ragtime Band,” “An Old-Fashioned Wedding,” “Sisters,” “Doin’ What Comes Natur’lly,” “White Christmas” and on and on.
Valerie Torres-Rosario and Adam T. Biner sparkle on “It’s a Lovely Day Today,” Larry Alexander’s tenor adds a beautiful spot of poignancy in “They Say It’s Wonderful,” Rebecca Jo Lightfoot lights up the stage as “The Hostess With the Mostes’ on the Ball.”
A neat twist on an old classic comes when “Anything You
Can Do (I Can Do Better)” is changed from a battle of the sexes to a game of macho posturing between Biner and Alan. And I could listen to a whole concert of Anderson, Lightfoot and Torres-Rosario performing those tight girl-group harmonies of the 1940s after their gorgeous “Any Bonds Today?”
Leavy’s musical arrangements combine songs in interesting ways, including a trio of patriotic songs that in today’s climate borders on making a political statement of which fiercely patriotic Berlin — the son of Russian immigrants — would certainly approve. “Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor,” a salute to the Statue of Liberty’s welcome message to those seeking a better life here, leads into “This is a Great Country” and then to “God Bless America.”
For that last one, theatergoers are invited to sing along. How could they not?